May 23 Letters: NN Police Department, cultural bias

May 22, 2013

[Recently] I saw a TV news story asking if there is a"culture of corruption" at the Newport News Police Department. The inquiry referenced four police officers who were recently arrested. I respect the media query. That is their job. However, I do have a response that focuses on the word "culture."

I was employed as a police officer for NNPD at age 19. I retired 28 years later. Barely a legal adult when hired, one can reasonably conclude I was raised by, molded by and made part of the NNPD culture.Throughout my career; honesty and integrity was the mantra.

Chief James Fox was my leader for the last decade of my NNPD career. I found him to be the personification of all the values I had previously learned and adopted. I saw him teach, illuminate, and absolutely mandate professionalism and integrity. His often-stated number one goal is reducing crime and providing a safe public environment. That is true.

But, from a very internal perspective, I derived another goal — to impart a simple axiom to the officers: Do it right. Mistakes occur. If you lie, you're fired.

I admire Chief Fox and the NNPD. There is nothing wrong with the culture. The organization is certified, tested and awarded at international levels.

However, I concede as long as we occupy those blue uniforms with humans, the potential for unpredictable behavior exists. Indeed, there may be something wrong with humans.

Richard H. "Rick" Gaddis

Retired Sergeant, NNPD

Carrollton

I am an American who is 100 percent Italian, and have listened to jokes about my heritage for as long as I can remember. We have movies, TV shows, plays and countless jokes about anything and everything Italian.

I am not defending what was said about other culture; it is all wrong. What I am just saying is that if it is appalling to some people about one heritage, then it should be just as appalling to those same people when it is done to my heritage. We are always talking about equality and justice — maybe next time Hollywood makes a derogatory movie about Italians, or they hear a joke [using derogatory slang] about [my ethic group], the public should be just as outraged.